Commission benchmarking intervention is impulsive and out of proportion

Plans announced by the European Commission to regulate a huge range of financial and trading benchmarks were condemned today as disproportionate and needless.

Syed Kamall MEP, Conservative spokesman on Economic and Monetary Affairs in the European Parliament, said the proposals showed "no logic and no concept of limited intervention."

The measures were announced today ostensibly to tackle market abuse in the wake of the LIBOR and EURIBOR scandals, but in fact propose sweeping powers for the EU to intervene in the trading of commodities, energy and currency derivatives.

"The LIBOR scandal was just that - a scandal. Martin Wheatley (Chief Executive of the UK Financial Conduct Authority) and the International Organisation of Securities Commissions have already come up with a set of practical and common-sense proposals for ensuring there is no repeat.

"To suggest that all benchmarks and indices are faulty and in need of regulating on the basis of the LIBOR experience is absurd. It shows no logic and no concept of limited intervention."

"The Commission seems intent on new regulation for the energy sector even before an investigation into alleged fixing of oil benchmarks have been concluded, so this is impulsive and premature.

"Commissioners should wait for evidence before jumping into action and should allow markets to operate freely unless and until there is a very compelling reason to step in."